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Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole combines all the flavors of the big meal in a simple, easy to make, never dried out dish. This is the best way to use up those leftovers!
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Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole came about a couple of holidays ago when I was staring down a fridge full of plastic containers. Heating up leftovers separately in the microwave can take forever, and frankly, I just didn’t have it in me.
So, I created this casserole and our leftovers have never been the same!
This Thanksgiving Dinner Leftover recipe is so easy. It all cooks at the same time and can easily be modified according to how much of each leftover you have.
If you have a ton of leftovers, you can double this recipe and cook it in a 9×13 pan.
You can also adapt the ingredients you use in the casserole to fit your preferences, tastes, and what you have left over in the fridge from Thanksgiving Dinner.
Plus, we have a some other surprise Thanksgiving leftover recipe ideas too!
Cost Saving (& Delicious) Leftover Thanksgiving Casserole
I like using my leftovers from Thanksgiving in a casserole because it will feed my family for another meal or two, and I, for one, think it tastes better than heating up everything in the microwave!
Serve it with some leftover rolls and it is a hot meal with all of the wonderful tastes of Thanksgiving all over again.
It is delicious and economical! I hate to see any of the dishes I make for Thanksgiving go to waste.
It takes a lot of time, energy, and money to put on a Thanksgiving dinner, and throwing any of it out is not an option at my house!
Ingredients in Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole
This could also be called Leftover Turkey Casserole because the ingredients you use just build around the turkey left over from your Thanksgiving dinner. Along with the turkey, you can layer the following:
- Mashed potatoes
- Turkey gravy
- Stuffing (or bread crumbs if you don’t have leftover stuffing)
- Corn
- Green beans
- Rice
- Carrots
- Peas
- Whole berry cranberry sauce or jellied cranberry sauce
- Cheddar cheese
Frequently Asked Questions About Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes
There are a ton of options for what you can do with Thanksgiving leftovers, we find our Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole or Thanksgiving Leftovers Pilgrim Sandwiches to be the easiest and tastiest.
Depends on if you have leftovers! If you do, our Leftover Casserole or Thanksgiving Sandwiches are easy and delicious. If not, we recommend something light to help you reset.
In our family, we usually have the most leftover Turkey! The stuffing and other sides go fast!
Most thanksgiving leftovers are good three to four days in the fridge, and a few months in the freezer. All the more reason to make our Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole ASAP!
It’s not recommended to eat leftover turkey after three to four days in the refrigerator.
Technically, yes, but we’d recommend freezing sooner rather than later if that’s your plan!
After three to four days in the refrigerator, or a few months in the freezer.
More Ways to Use Thanksgiving Leftovers
If you still have leftovers after making this casserole, then here’s another delicious idea for leftovers that my family loves.
We call them Pilgrim Sandwiches or “Bobbies” because that is what they are called at Capriotti’s, one of our favorite sandwich shops.
The ingredients are used straight from the fridge, so the sandwich is cold. If you prefer to heat the ingredients or broil the sandwich, that is good too.
You can also use leftover turkey in recipes that call for chicken. Leftover turkey is delicious in our Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup.
Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups turkey shredded
- 3/4 cup cranberry sauce
- 2 cups mashed potatoes
- 1 cup corn
- 1 cup turkey gravy
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 cups stuffing
- chicken broth or melted butter to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Combine turkey and cranberry sauce and spread evenly on the bottom of an 8×8 glass baking dish.
- Evenly press on leftover mashed potatoes and sprinkle corn over the top.
- Mix together milk and leftover gravy and spread evenly over potatoes and corn. Sprinkle on leftover stuffing and lightly drizzle chicken broth over the top (this will keep the stuffing from drying out).
- Cover with tin foil and bake at 400-degrees for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.
Notes
Variations to this recipe
Feel free to use whatever leftovers you have on hand. It doesn’t have to be exactly the same as what is listed here. Some ideas to try:- Substitute rice for mashed potatoes.
- Substitute peas, carrots, or green beans for corn, or use more than one vegetable depending on what you have on hand.
- Substitute croutons or bread crumbs for the topping if you don’t have stuffing leftovers.
I can’t rate because just made it and we haven’t tried it. Can it be made a day ahead and stored in fridge until baking time?
Yes, add a few minutes to the baking time to adjust for it being cold when placing it in the fridge. Check the center of the casserole to make sure it is warmed through before serving. Thanks for asking. Merry Christmas!
30 minutes is not long enough to heat the casserole. The time needs to be 1 hour
Over many years I’ve also made a very similar casserole, but serve the cranberries separately because some family members dislike them. The left-over casserole is so delicious and I plan on making it again this holiday season. My question is: How safe is it to freeze this casserole, and for how long?
We haven’t tried freezing this casserole, so I am not sure!
My favorite casserole ever, the cranberry sauce is unexpectedly the key, delicious ingredient that ties it all together!!
Made This last year and making it again this year amazing recipe must try!!!!
I tried this recipe last year, and it was so good, I cooked everything from scratch again, just to make the casserole! This is now my weekend after Thanksgiving must do that I look forward to eating for months. I substitute green bean casserole for the corn. Oh my, it’s tasty!
A great way to use the leftovers!! I doubled the recipe and it was delicious! Love the one dish, easy to bake and not lots of pots to clean. Thanks for posting!
HAHA…… after Thanksgiving we put all the side dish leftovers in the frig in their serving or casserole dishes, so after I put this together, I had a whole sink of Thanksgiving dishes to do! It is a great way to use up the leftovers.
I make this every year. It even appeals to my husband and two kids who are very picky.
I have made this several times. It is excellent. In fact, this year I’m not having Thanksgiving at my house but I will get a Rotisserie Chicken and make small batches of potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce just so I can make this recipe!
Has anyone tried using sweet potato casserole instead of mashed potatoes?
Well I did tonight made 2 one with sweet potatoes and one with regular. If you don’t hear back it was amazing!!!!
Yes! Using leftover Marshmallow Sweet Potato Casserole is just Fabulous!
Has anyone tried green bean casserole as your vegetable.
Yes, and it’s fabulous! I don’t like corn, but I love green bean casserole.
LOVE this recipe! Such a great idea! I also had leftover cranberries, and fried onions leftover from our green bean casserole, so I sprinkled some of those in a corner to try it out, and we loved it!
I’ve been wanting to make an
“Everything But the Kitchen Sink Thanksgiving Casserole” for years. I made this last night. It is quick and easy! Would of liked for it to hold up better when I served it. But that aside, why isn’t Thanksgiving dinner served like this!!! So happy I found your recipe. I’ve already added this to my TG recipes. 😊
This was a hit this year! 2020 was a letdown but this recipe made everyone happy! This was the first time, I didn’t make a big deal of Thanksgiving dinner. My adult son, who doesn’t eat leftovers, took leftovers home! Thank you!
This is a great recipe! It’s not only super delish, but also customizable. I like to make it with either green beans or mixed veggies, and I’ve also made it any old time of the year with chicken. We like whole berry cranberry sauce, so that’s what I use. I double the recipe, & bake it in a 13″ X 9″ Pyrex (we like the leftovers). Thanks ladies 🙂
It is now a tradition to make at least 2 of these for Thanksgiving every year. It’s just my spouse and I, and we don’t like fussing with big fancy meals and all those dishes. We actually just make and eat this FOR Thanksgiving and throughout the whole weekend. We use turkey breast cooked right in the dish, add green beans in with the corn, and because we aren’t picky we use those packets of instant mashed potatoes, stovetop stuffing, and gravy in a jar. It’s super easy, quick, hardly messy, hassle-free, and DELICIOUS. It’s honestly great at any time of year. We also altered the recipe and sometimes use ham and spiced applesauce in place of the turkey and cranberry sauce. 10/10
I 💖 your idea! I too have been using boxed dressing mix for years. I dress it up though by sautéing a bunch of onions and celery – often oil-free in the microwave, adding it to the box mix with boxed chicken (or turkey if I can find it) stock. Makes it taste more like homemade. And I always do extra onions and celery so I can make another box (or 2 lol) for me as I send the leftovers home with the friends that I celebrate with.
Stay safe. Alberta, Canada 🇨🇦 where it’s currently 7°C (44°F) at my house. Brrr!